Candidates castigate Obama over economy

The Republican presidential candidates who’ve been campaigning in Iowa over the past few days each suggest President Barack Obama’s policies are the cause of the recent downturn in the financial markets and the dour job outlook for many Americans.

Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann said today the drop in the Dow shows the markets aren’t “fooled” by the bill she opposed, which raises the nation’s credit limit.

“Politicians can go ahead and beat their chests and trumph this bill about giving the president a $2.4 trillion blank check like they did earlier this week, but the markets see through that,” Bachmann said this afternoon in Newton. “The markets see that we are doing nothing to address debt and they also recognize that tax increases are just around the corner. All they have to do is listen to President Obama. That’s his plan.”

Another candidate, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, said today it looks to him as if a “double-dip” recession may be ahead.

“The economy is sputtering,” Pawlenty said this morning during a stop in Mason City. “…Barack Obama has been in office for three years and what he’s done hasn’t worked. It’s time for him to go.”

Pawlenty said it’s not just this week’s dramatic drop in the Dow that has Americans concerned.

“Barack Obama had his chance,” Pawlenty said in Mason City. “He promised hope and change, but now we’re just hoping we don’t lose our house or we don’t have to change our address. It’s gotten that bad.”

Pawlenty was one of four Republican presidential candidates who spoke to a crowd of about 400 gathered in the Clear Creek Amana High School lunch room in Tiffin tonight. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said the nation’s high unemployment rate is “dangerous”.

“We’re in so much trouble that we need to actually try to solve problems before the election,” Gingrich said in Tiffin. “It’s not easy because we have a president who combines, in a remarkable way, radicalism with incompetence.”

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum accused Obama of striking a “death blow” to the economy.

Michigan Congressman Thaddeus McCotter, a recent entrant in the presidential race, suggested Republicans would “awaken the American people” to recalibrate not only the economy, but restructure the federal government.

“President Obama is nothing more than Jimmy Carter in a better suit,” McCotter told the crowd in Tiffin.

The Obama Administration announced late today that the president will hold a “Rural Economic Forum” at Northeast Iowa Community College in Peosta on August 15th. According to a statement from the White House, Obama will meet with “small business owners, private sector leaders, rural organizations and government officials to discuss ideas and initiatives to promote economic growth.”